Some aspects of farming have changed in my lifetime. When I was young I remember the push to finish planting corn, hopefully by Mothers Day. After corn planting was done you would plant soybeans. If you were fortunate you were putting the planter away for the year by June. 50 Read more…
I have spent the last week thinking of the right things to say to encourage drivers to be safer drivers, especially when encountering farm equipment on our local roads. I have to admit, my words probably would not make much difference. Is it possible the cell phone has made the Read more…
It is baby chick season. For the 4th time in my adult life I have become the surrogate father of 100 day-old chickens. I am entering my 10th year of raising back yard laying hens. I thought I knew chickens, but it turns out I was clueless to many of Read more…
Mother Nature has fooled me once again. Last week I wrote about the rising cost of fertilizer. Even when fertilizer is not expensive, I try to never waste any. Each spring I struggle with the most efficient way to fertilize my wheat fields. If I apply too early, on frozen Read more…
Spring has arrived. The grass is green and the temperatures are rising. The temperature is not the only thing rising; I suspect many are watching the price of gas. Many prices are rising, which reminds me of the quote, “A rising tide lifts all ships.“ Will farmers like myself be Read more…
It is spring and soon it will be time for farmers to head to the field and start another year. For over 6 months grain prices have rallied higher, to prices that have not been seen for quite a while. Purchases of corn and soybeans for export to China have Read more…
Nine years ago in March during National Agriculture Week I sat down and wrote my first weekly column for this paper. But first, let’s tie up some loose ends about dry hands. And for you Chicago Cub fans, do you remember what Moses Alou allegedly did to strengthen his hands? Read more…
Why does water expand when frozen yet almost every other substance shrinks when it gets colder? Why are Illinois roads so bad? Why did I want the ground to freeze after wanting the snow to melt for the last month? It was about 1987 when I was working as a Read more…
It was a little crisp Saturday, February 24th, at 8:00 a.m. when I tended to my chickens and heard the familiar drone of snowmobiles. I rarely hear snowmobiles so early in the day. Minutes later on the way to the hay barn I passed two separate groups of riders, about Read more…
Did you know the ground is not frozen under the snow right now? How can that be when we have had over 20 days with temps below freezing? While pushing snow with my loader recently, I dug up some sod. The thick blanket of snow on the ground has insulated Read more…